tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7992023935961455603.post2871034456367260815..comments2018-03-16T02:38:20.862-05:00Comments on Life on the Other Side of the Wall: One Hole In The System...Aaron Likenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986793563943738918noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7992023935961455603.post-81219838397433324922013-03-21T19:41:21.303-05:002013-03-21T19:41:21.303-05:00People with autism can be GREAT self advocates. A...People with autism can be GREAT self advocates. All they need is a good mentor and conquer the social anxiety they have.<br /><br />I am fortunate to have 2 GREAT mentors in the self-advocacy department. Although they both teach me on how to advocate for the OT profession, I am applying what they taught me into my role as an autism self-advocate.<br /><br />The first &quot;mentor&quot; I have is someone who has 2 more years in OT practice than me. She is a strong supporter of the single payer health insurance bill in CA and had played a big role in unifying health professionals in other disciplines for this bill. The second &quot;mentor&quot; I have is a COTA who has been around for 2-3 decades and has been active with congress people as well as celebrities. Through learning from the two of them, I have developed my own style!<br /><br />As for the &quot;big&quot; question, dreaming big is not a bad thing. The thing is- it&#39;s best that you are at the controls whenever possible. You know your interests and what your message is better than anybody. Sure, I sometimes rely on connections to get me things. BUT, I make a lot of things happen for myself. Once people see my work, some of them may join my bandwagon and give me more suggestions! Sometimes I take the suggestions and try them out, sometimes I leave them at the back burner. Ultimately, you have to need people to help you to go beyond your existing circles.<br /><br />Like me for example, I have people suggesting me to not only have my journal articles published on OT peer review journals, but also in other disciplines. Similarly, they also want me to explore presenting in conferences outside of OT. Lastly, my second &quot;mentor&quot; has been setting me up appearances to talk to the public about autism- radio, legislative visits, you name it. While these seem big already, I have wilder dreams than this- 1) being an American Occupational Therapy Association fellow (1% of occupational therapists in the US get this!) 2) serve in OT leadership positions in my state and/or nationally 3) Deliver the Eleanor Slagle Lecture (similar to Nobel Prize in the OT in the US) 4) Deliver my own OT autism presentations in Hong Kong in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. (I don&#39;t want a translator if I prove I can do it in the last two languages.)<br /><br />You are more than capable to make some noise in the autism world. Your potential will depend on how much work you want to put in to address your weaknesses and perhaps get better credentials so that more people can respect who you are.<br /><br />I am getting my clinical doctorate in OT for a reason- because I don&#39;t believe it has been done by an individual with autism anywhere in the world... and the fact I am getting one will be a monumental milestone for the OT profession! You can call this a &quot;small step&quot; in my big dreams.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15977097284075812594noreply@blogger.com